Posts Tagged ‘photography business’

This image alone took the best part of an hour to spot out all the sensor dust. Time that could have been much better spent. Despite my own self rightous preaching on being organised and managing time effectively, I sometimes fail to take my own advice. One of my worst habits when out shooting is […]

The good folk at Photoshelter have just released their Photographer’s Outlook for 2013, the results of an annual survey of 5,000 photographers asking about their plans and expectations for 2013. One of the questions was “In 2013, what will you invest in?” Amongst the usual responses of lenses, camera bodies and other equipment and software, […]

I made some photographs for the first time in weeks recently, and they weren’t very good. To me they seemed unimaginative and uninspired. They were difficult to make. Why, I wondered. Conditions were good, I had all the gear I needed. I had a beautiful location to shoot. The trouble was, I had forgotten what […]

Social media can either be a Bermuda Triangle when it comes to your time, or a wonderfully efficient way to gain website traffic. We’re told that it is the way of the future. That to gain the greatest audience we need to be active in social media. So we spend hours each week blogging, tweeting […]

After a long deliberation, I’ve finally taken the plunge and started an Expanse Photography Facebook page. Gratuitous plug HERE. The reason for holding off so long is that I was a bit hesitant about the time I would need to spend in updating the page, and driving traffic to it, but now that the page […]

This isn’t a new years resolution post. It’s a bit early for that and I don’t make them anyhow, but I came across an article online this week that asked the question: what do you want to learn about photography in 2012? Not: where to you want to take your business, or how much money […]

The photograph in question. Incidentally Gursky will not receive a penny from the sale of his image as it was sold from one collector to another. I’ve written before about the value of photography, but finding out that Andreas Gursky’s photograph, “Rhein II” (above) has just been sold for $4.3 million at Christies has caused me […]

The good folk at PhotoShelter are offering up yet more great photo business advice. Apart from offering a image storage and website solution for photographers, these guys produce e-books by the dozen and run a great blog that often includes webinars featuring art directors, photographers and people in the photography and publishing industries that provide some useful […]

Putting your feet up is the last thing you should be doing between photography assignments. Continuing on with what has become a kind of accidental theme on this blog over the last few weeks, I thought I would post some thoughts on another important part of operating a photography business: the actual making of money. […]

A typical day in the life of a working photographer If you’re a working photographer, you’re almost certainly self employed. And chances are you’re a one man or woman band and are struggling to get your head around juggling your time and getting all the business-y things done that allow you to keep making photos for a living. For most of us, […]

There is a common misconception that the goal of every amateur photographer is to become a “professional”, and earn their living from shooting images. Firstly, let me say that I really don’t like using the work professional when talking about photographers as it tends to put those people on a higher plain than mere […]

After a long, dark and wet winter here in Melbourne the weather is finally starting to change. Days are getting warmer and flowers are starting to bloom. I could harp on for hours here about new beginnings etc, but suffice it to say that this really is a great time of year for making plans […]

There is a quiet debate that continues amongst the photographic community regarding the preservation of RAW image files and their compatibility with image editing software. The discussion centres around the many propriety format of RAW files used by different manufacturers and by different cameras within each manufacturers range. This means that third party software needs […]

A couple of weeks ago I wrote some thoughts about the impending death of the photographic print. This was meant as nothing more than a nostalgic rant at the time, but it does throw up some serious practical issues. If, as a photographer, you sell a print to a client. You either print the image yourself […]

Warning: half baked rant coming up. This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately and decided to get it written down in a hurry before the thought escapes me. So if it’s a well considered and constructed opinion you’re after, move along, nothing to see here. Traditionally, the end result of the photographic […]

Newly launched, The Shutha website is a free resource put together by some folks from some pretty prestigeous groups, including the American Society of Media Photographers and World Press Photo. The site focuses on providing aspiring professional photographers with an insight into photography markets and avenues to earning a living from photography. It is directed largely […]

dpBestflow is a web resource run by the American Society of Media Photographers (similar to our own AIPP) focusing on digital workflow issues including hardware and software considerations, colour management, storage and backup and offering guides to setting up and streamlining a post shoot workflow that works for you. The resource includes screen shots and videos […]

Whatever we do for a living, be it photography, some other artistic pursuit, or work behind a desk, most of us want to believe what we are doing is important and valuable. To us photographers, our images are important. Mostly because they carry a certain sentimental value. They bring back memories of places we’ve been and serve […]

Skyscrapers and cities are built one brick at a time I used to have a boss who was very fond of the saying “G.I.D”, meaning “Get it Done”. It was his catchy way of asserting how important it is not to procrastinate or avoid tasks because they aren’t as interesting or you’re not sure how […]

Photoshelter recently published a discussion with Stella Kramer about how photo editors view photographer portfolios, what they look for and things to avoid. Stella is a Pulitzer Prize winner who has worked with many well known publications including the New York Times, Sports Illustrated and People Magazine, so it’s fair to say she knows what she’s talking about. […]

Mitchell Kanashkevich is a Sydney based travel and documentary photographer who’s primary focus is ancient cultures and the human condition in unique challenging situations (his own words). Put simply, Mitchell’s images are stunning. These are beautifully told stories with a rare empathy for and connection to his subjects. Mitchell has spent a lot of time […]

Many photographers are uncomfortable with promoting themselves, feeling self conscious or thinking that self promotion is the same as bragging. But here’s the thing. Self promotion is not about you. It’s about your clients and your marketplace. You have a product. They need it. You’re actually doing them a favour by providing that product. Keeping […]

The more I talk with other photographers who travel, the more I realise that there are two types of travel photographers out there. Firstly, the ones who do it first and foremost for the experience. To explore and learn of faraway places and cultures. And the trophy hunters, the ones for whom the travel […]

Following my recent rant on the importance of backing up, I thought it a good idea to put my money where my mouth is so to speak, and outline the backup strategy I have been using (albeit not vigilently enough up until now). This is not meant to be a post about workflow, just a discussion about […]